Review: Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks

Title: Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher

Summary:

Get swept up in an epic romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Notebook, a heartbreaking love story spanning decades and continents–from North Carolina to Zimbabwe.

Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. At thirty-six, she’s been dating her boyfriend, an orthopedic surgeon, for six years. With no wedding plans in sight, and her father recently diagnosed with ALS, she decides to use a week at her family’s cottage in Sunset Beach, North Carolina, to ready the house for sale and mull over some difficult decisions about her future.

Tru Walls has never visited North Carolina but is summoned to Sunset Beach by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. A safari guide, born and raised in Zimbabwe, Tru hopes to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his mother’s early life and recapture memories lost with her death. When the two strangers cross paths, their connection is as electric as it is unfathomable . . . but in the immersive days that follow, their feelings for each other will give way to choices that pit family duty against personal happiness in devastating ways.

Illuminating life’s heartbreaking regrets and enduring hope, EVERY BREATH explores the many facets of love that lay claim to our deepest loyalties–while asking the question, How long can a dream survive?

Review:

Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks is a delightfully heartwarming and engaging romance.

Thirty-six year old Hope Anderson retreats to her family’s beach cottage after another fight with her long time boyfriend Josh. The two have been dating off and on for the past six years and she is beginning to think he will never be ready to fully commit to her. Following their latest argument, their relationship is off yet again and Josh’s decision to go to Las Vegas with his friends instead of attending a wedding in North Carolina with Hope is quite disheartening. Unable to give up on her dreams of motherhood and marriage, Hope is hoping to work things out with Josh, but will meeting Tru Walls change the direction of her life?

Tru has flown to the NC coast from Zimbabwe to meet his biological father for the first time. Tru is forty-two year divorced father and a wild life safari guide who spends the most of his time in the African bush.  Despite losing his mother in a tragic fire and a troubled relationship with his step-father and half-siblings, Tru is comfortable in his skin and content with his life. The only reason he agrees to meet his father is to hopefully glean information about his mother.  With his father’s arrival delayed, Tru  is enjoying his time on the beach when he  begins spending time with Hope.

Hope and Tru do not have much time together but their relationship is intense and emotional. Having confided in one another, their burgeoning friendship quickly turns romantic although neither of them envision a future together. Despite the strength of her feelings for Tru, Hope cannot give up on her six year relationship with Josh. Tru’s life is in Zimbabwe with his son but he cannot let Hope leave without confessing his love to her. Will Hope and Tru find a way to be together?

Every Breath is a wonderfully romantic novel that is fast-paced and compelling. Tru and Hope are terrific characters who are immensely appealing and completely lovable. The beach setting is quite picturesque and easy to visualize. The descriptions of Tru’s life in Zimbabwe bring the country vibrantly to life.  Nicholas Sparks opens and closes the story with very intriguing entries that are unique and clever. The novel’s deeply affecting conclusion is poignant yet uplifting. I absolutely loved and highly recommend this heartfelt and endearing novel to fans of the genre.